FREE access to the digital edition and archives until September 2. Click here. →
Browse › 2016 › July
July 17, 2016
Ever wonder what the Bible has to say about praise hands and tears of joy? Now you can search the Bible using emoji on Bible Gateway.
OAKLAND, Calif. – In what has become a staple of summer television, scores of athletic folks run an obstacle course that looks like a cross between a playground on steroids and the inner workings of a pinball machine.
In the wake of a string of racially tinged shootings, majority white churches — even those quiet in past years about racial prejudice — have begun to find their voices.
July 18, 2016
Sometimes, God works in not so mysterious ways. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that today’s Gospel speaks to something I’ve been anxious about for weeks now.
VATICAN CITY – Remembering the victims of the tragic terrorist attack in Nice, France, Pope Francis prayed that God may give comfort to grieving families and foil the plans of those who wish to harm others.
Pope Francis has telephoned leaders of the terror-stricken French city of Nice, asking him what he could do to help in the wake of last week’s gruesome truck attack and promising to meet with the families of the victims as soon as possible.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa – One-third of HIV-positive children "die before their first birthday, and half before their second birthday," so Catholic groups are advocating for changes in treatment, said Msgr. Robert Vitillo, Caritas Internationalis special adviser on HIV and health.
WASHINGTON – The threat of being pulled over by police and arrested for something that even "hinted of going beyond the status quo," was very real to retired Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, when he was growing up in segregated Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Baton Rouge Bishop Robert W. Muench renewed a call for a diocesan-wide week of prayer, fasting and reflection after the latest fatal shootings in the city, which this time took the lives of three law enforcement officers.
July 19, 2016
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Salvadorans must not overreact to the Supreme Court decision to declare the country's amnesty law unconstitutional, said Auxiliary Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavez of San Salvador.
ST. LOUIS – Since its release in the United States July 6, Pokemon Go has quickly become a cultural phenomenon.
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis offered his help to the people of Nice in a surprise phone call following a deadly attack during Bastille Day celebrations, said the head of an association of Italians living in France.
TORONTO – When the Indy comes to town, organizers bring almost everything a race team could need — including a priest to celebrate Mass.
On the longest day of the year, I stood on a mountain trail in the middle of the French Alps a mile above sea level. I had every reason to count my blessings.
July 20, 2016
OTTAWA – The head of the Toronto archdiocese’s refugee office made an impassioned plea July 18 for Canada to to protect Yazidis and other vulnerable religious minorities.
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis said he looks forward to his upcoming visit to Poland for World Youth Day and that his visit will be inspired by mercy during this Jubilee Year.
ROME – Pope Francis sent a high-ranking cardinal to South Sudan to urge for a peaceful end to the escalating violence in the country.
ROME – Carmen Hernandez, co-founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, died in Madrid July 19 at the age of 85.
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 31 (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 90; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21) The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus taught that all things are constantly in flux. He famously stated that it is impossible to step in the same river twice.
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) August 7 (Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48) How do we navigate through life, keeping hope alive and persevering in the face of trials? The biblical tradition is consistent and clear — the righteous person lives by faith.